Method of wrapping a floral grouping

ABSTRACT

A method for wrapping a wrapper about a floral grouping wherein the wrapper is a sleeve or sheet of material having a cinching tab or strip of bonding material, or both, and a detaching element such as perforations for detaching a portion of the sleeve or sheet of material. The floral grouping is placed on the sheet of material which is wrapped thereabout, or the floral grouping is disposed in the interior space of the sleeve. The wrapper may further comprise an additional strip of bonding material for bonding an informational card or label to the wrapper. After the wrapper is wrapped about the floral grouping, a portion of the wrapper may be removed by using the detaching element, thereby leaving a portion of the wrapper wrapped or bound about the floral grouping.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/769,711, filedJan. 25, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,471; which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 09/464,684, filed Dec. 16, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No.6,195,962; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/136,438, filedAug. 18, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,912; which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 08/862,659, filed May 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.5,832,695; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/452/905, filedMay 30, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,233; which is a divisional of U.S.Ser. No. 08/218,952, filed Mar. 25, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,048;which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/095,331, filed Jul.21, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,939.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet of material with one end turned up,constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second sheet of material with one end turnedup, constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the first and the second sheets ofmaterial disposed adjacent each other.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing bonding areas on a surface of thefirst sheet or the second sheet which cause bonding of the second sheetand the first sheet.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of modified first and second sheets ofmaterial.

FIG. 6 is another cross-sectional view of a modified first sheet ofmaterial connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of still another modified first sheetof material connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of yet another modified first sheet ofmaterial connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of sheets of material,constructed in accordance with the present invention, forming acontinuous roll, the roll partially unrolled to reveal a single sheetstill attached thereto.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of sheets of materialforming a continuous roll of material disposed in a dispenser.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing a roll of material wherein theroll of material comprises a first and a second sheet of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of a pad of first and second sheetsof material constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a floral grouping disposed on a sheetof material.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the floral grouping of FIG. 13 beingwrapped by one method of wrapping.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the floral grouping wrapped in aconical fashion.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the conically wrapped floral groupingwith a cinching tab wrapped tightly about the wrapper.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another method of using a sheet ofmaterial to wrap a floral grouping in a cylindrical fashion.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a cylindrically wrapped floral groupinghaving a cinching tab wrapped tightly about the wrapper.

FIG. 19A is a plan view of a sheet of material constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a first strip and a second strip ofbonding material applied to a portion of an upper surface thereof.

FIG. 19B is a cross-sectional view of the sheet of material of FIG. 19A,taken along line 19B—19B.

FIG. 20A is a plan view of a sheet of material having a first strip ofbonding material on an upper surface and a second strip of bondingmaterial applied to a lower surface thereof.

FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 20A, takenalong line 20B—20B.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 19Ahaving a floral grouping disposed thereon.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and the floralgrouping of FIG. 21 showing a method used to wrap the sheet of materialabout the floral grouping.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 22wrapped completely about the floral grouping to provide a conicalfashion.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the conical wrapper and floral groupingof FIG. 23 indicating the second strip of bonding material crimped aboutthe stems of the floral grouping to form a bound area.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 21wrapped about the floral grouping to provide a cylindrical wrapper.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the cylindrical wrapper of FIG. 25showing the second strip of bonding material crimped about the stems ofthe floral grouping.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 20Ahaving a floral grouping disposed on an upper surface thereof.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and the floralgrouping of FIG. 27, showing a method used to wrap the sheet of materialabout the floral grouping.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 28wrapped completely about the floral grouping to provide a conicalwrapper.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the conical wrapper and floral groupingof FIG. 29, indicating the second strip of bonding crimped about thestems of the floral grouping to form a bound area.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 27wrapped about a floral grouping to provide a cylindrical wrapper.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of the cylindrical wrapper of FIG. 31showing the second strip of bonding material crimped about the stems ofthe floral grouping.

FIG. 33 is a plan view of a wrapper comprising a first sheet of materialand a second sheet of material and having a double-sided bondingmaterial and release strip upon one surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 33, taken alongline 34—34, and indicating a seal between the first and second sheets ofmaterial.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 33 after a floralgrouping has been disposed therein and further showing the release strippartially detached from the bonding material on the wrapper.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.35, showing one way in which the wrapper can be folded about stems ofthe floral grouping.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.36 once the wrapper has been folded about the stems and cinched usingthe bonding material.

FIG. 38 is a plan view of a wrapper similar to the wrapper of FIG. 33except having a cinching tab attached thereto rather than a bondingstrip.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 38, taken alongline 39—39.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 38 having a floralgrouping disposed within an interior thereof.

FIG. 41 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.40 and further showing the cinching tab cinching a portion of thewrapper tightly about stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 42 is a plan view showing a wrapper exactly the same as thewrappers of FIGS. 33 and 38 except having a closure bonding materialdisposed on an inner surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 42, taken alongline 43—43, showing the disposition of the closure bonding material onthe inner surfaces of the wrapper.

FIG. 44 is a perspective view showing the wrapper of FIG. 42 having afloral grouping disposed therein.

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.44 and showing the wrapper crimped tightly about stems of the floralgrouping and held thereto by the closure bonding material.

FIG. 46 is a plan view of a wrapper similar to the wrappers shown inFIGS. 38 and 42 and having both a cinching tab and a closure bondingmaterial disposed on an inner surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 46, taken alongline 47—47.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 46 having a floralgrouping disposed therein.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the wrapper and the floral grouping ofFIG. 48 after the closure bonding material has been crimped about stemsof the floral grouping and after the cinching tab has been cinchedtightly about the stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 50 is a perspective view of a wrapper similar to the wrapper ofFIG. 42 except that a closure bonding material is disposed on an outersurface of the wrapper.

FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 50, taken alongline 51—51.

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 50 showing a floralgrouping disposed therein.

FIG. 53 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.52 showing the closure bonding material crimped tightly, causing thewrapper to be engaged tightly about stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 54 is a plan view of a wrapper comprising elements of the wrapperof FIG. 38 and the wrapper of FIG. 50 wherein the wrapper has both acinching tab and closure bonding material disposed on a portion of anouter surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 55 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 54, taken alongline 55—55.

FIG. 56 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 54 having a floralgrouping disposed therein.

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.56, showing the wrapper crimped about stems of the floral grouping bythe closure bonding material and further showing the cinching tabcinched tightly about the stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 58 is a plan view of a wrapper constructed in accordance with thepresent invention having a cinching tab attached thereto and furtherhaving a lower end flap and an upper end flap.

FIG. 58A is a cross-sectional view of a pad of wrappers.

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a sheet of material having a bondingmaterial on a surface thereof for holding a card or label having floralindicia thereon.

FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the floral grouping and sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 59 being wrapped by one method of wrapping.

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 59wrapped completely about the floral grouping to provide a conicalwrapper.

FIG. 62 is a perspective view of another method of using the sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 59 to wrap a floral grouping to provide a cylindricalwrapper and showing a card having floral indicia affixed to the wrapper.

FIG. 63 is a perspective view of a floral grouping disposed on a sheetof material having a closure tab and a strip of material for holding acard or label bearing floral indicia.

FIG. 64 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and the floralgrouping of FIG. 63 showing a method used to wrap the sheet of materialabout the floral grouping.

FIG. 65 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 63wrapped completely about the floral grouping to provide a conicalwrapper.

FIG. 66 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 63wrapped about the floral grouping to provide a cylindrical wrapper.

FIG. 67 is a plan view of a wrapper having a bonding material disposedupon a portion of an interior surface thereof.

FIG. 68 is a cross-sectional of the wrapper of FIG. 67, taken along line68—68.

FIG. 69 is a plan view of a wrapper having a bonding material disposedupon a portion of an interior surface thereof and further having aclosure tab.

FIG. 70 is a cross-sectional view of the wrapper of FIG. 69, taken alongline 70—70.

FIG. 71 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet of material having a stripof bonding material on an upper surface thereof and another strip ofbonding material on an lower surface thereof, the strips of bondingmaterial disposed generally opposite each other.

FIG. 72 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet of material having a stripof bonding material on an upper surface thereof and a strip of bondingmaterial on a lower surface thereof wherein the strips of bondingmaterial are oriented in a generally offset orientation to each other.

FIG. 73 is a side view of a sheet of material having a single strip ofclosure bonding material on the upper surface thereof and two separatestrips of closure bonding material on the lower surface thereof.

FIG. 74 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet of material having twoseparate strips of bonding material on an upper surface thereof and asingle strip of bonding material separate therefrom on a lower surfaceof the sheet of material.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of a wrapper containing a floral groupingwherein a portion of an upper portion of the wrapper is detached toexpose the floral grouping.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of a wrapper containing a floral groupingwherein an entire upper portion of the wrapper is detached to expose thefloral grouping.

FIG. 77 is a perspective view of another wrapper containing a floralgrouping wherein a portion of an upper portion of the wrapper isdetached to expose the floral grouping.

FIG. 78 is a perspective view of another wrapper containing a floralgrouping wherein an entire upper portion of the wrapper is detached toexpose the floral grouping.

FIG. 79 is a perspective view of yet another wrapper containing a floralgrouping wherein a portion of an upper portion of the wrapper isdetached to expose the floral grouping.

FIG. 80 is a perspective view of yet another] wrapper containing afloral grouping wherein an entire upper portion of the wrapper isdetached to expose the floral grouping.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to wrapping a floral groupingwith a wrapper and crimping at least a portion of the wrapper about astem portion of the floral grouping whereby the crimped portion of thewrapper is bound together with a bonding material. A portion of thewrapper is detachable from the portion of the wrapper left wrapped aboutthe floral grouping.

Packers of floral groupings, such as bouquets, often complain thatfloral grouping wrappers, such as commercially-available “sleeves,” arenot the correct size at the lower end of the wrapper. Therefore, thepacker must use some type of band or tie at the lower end of the wrapperto take up the extra wrapper material and to tightly wrap the wrapperabout the stems of the floral grouping to inhibit the bouquet fromspreading apart or slipping from the wrapper.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to increase the easeand quickness with which a wrapper can be applied about a floralgrouping and held firmly about the stems of the floral grouping withoutrelying on the additional step of applying a separate band or tie aboutthe wrapper. Another object is to be able to optionally affix aninformational label to the wrapper and to further allow the portion ofthe wrapper disposed about the floral grouping, or a portion of thefloral grouping, to be removed while allowing the remainder of thewrapper to be disposed about the floral grouping.

As noted above, the present invention is a method for wrapping a floralgrouping. One version of the invention comprises providing a floralgrouping and a wrapper. The wrapper may be a floral sleeve of a typewhich is well known in the floral wrapping art or it may be a sheet ofmaterial. The wrapper has a crimp connector for firmly holdingoverlapping portions of the wrapper in a crimped position adjacent thestem portion of the floral grouping. The wrapper further includesperforations or other detaching elements for allowing a portion of thewrapper to be detached. The crimp connector may further comprise abonding material, or a cinching tab, or both. The floral grouping isplaced into an interior space of the wrapper and the wrapper is boundabout the floral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper togetherwith the crimp connector, thereby forming a crimped portion of thewrapper and firmly binding the wrapper in a position about the floralgrouping. The wrapper may further comprise a closure flap extending fromthe wrapper for enclosing either an upper end or a lower end oralternatively, both the upper and lower ends of the wrapper. The wrappermay further comprise a label bonding material for affixing a label to aportion of the wrapper. When the wrapper is a sheet of material, thesheet of material may have a sheet connector for connecting overlappingportions of the sheet of material to provide a conical or cylindricalwrapper about a floral grouping. The method further comprises detachinga removable portion of the wrapper for exposing the floral grouping, ora portion thereof.

In one version of the present invention, the method comprises providinga floral grouping and a wrapper having an upper end and a lower end. Thewrapper has an inner surface which surrounds an interior space, and anouter surface. The inner surface has a first side and a second side withthe first side opposite the second side. The outer surface has a firstouter side and a second outer side, with the first outer side oppositethe second outer side, and the first outer side and the second outerside separated by the interior space. The wrapper further comprises acrimp connecting element comprising a bonding material disposed upon aportion of either or both the inner surface and outer surface, forholding overlapping portions of the wrapper in a crimped positionadjacent the stem portion of the floral grouping. The wrapper furthercomprises a detaching element for detaching a portion of the wrapperafter the wrapper has been bound about the floral grouping.

The method further comprises the step of placing the floral groupinginto the interior space of the wrapper and binding the wrapper about thefloral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper together, causing atleast one portion of the wrapper to overlap at least one other portionof the wrapper. The crimp connecting element connects the overlappingportions of the wrapper together in a position surrounding and adjacentthe stem portion of the floral grouping, forming a crimped portion ofthe wrapper, thereby firmly binding the wrapper in a position about thefloral grouping.

In another version of the present invention, the first step of themethod is providing a floral grouping having an upper end and a stemportion, and providing a wrapper. The wrapper may be further defined ashaving a first surface and a second surface such as is typical of thetype of wrapper known in the art as a sleeve. The first surface has aninner surface, an outer surface, an upper end, a lower end, a left-handside and a right-hand side. The second surface has an inner surface, anouter surface, an upper end, a lower end, a left-hand side and aright-hand side. Either the first surface or the second surface, or boththe first and second surfaces have a detaching element for allowing aportion of the first surface, second surface, or both first and secondsurfaces, to be detached from the wrapper.

The first surface and the second surface are disposed flatwise upon eachother, with the inner surface of the first surface facing the innersurface of the second surface. Furthermore, the left-hand side of thefirst surface and the left-hand side of the second surface are sealedtogether and the right-hand side of the first surface and the right-handside of the second surface are sealed together forming an interior spacebetween the first surface and the second surface into which a floralgrouping is disposable.

The wrapper further comprises a crimp connector for holding overlappingportions of the wrapper in a crimped position adjacent the stem portionof the floral grouping. The crimp connector further comprises a bondingmaterial.

In the next step, the floral grouping is placed into the interior spaceof the wrapper. The wrapper is then bound about the floral grouping bycrimping portions of the wrapper together, causing at least one portionof the wrapper to overlap at least one other portion of the wrapper,such that the crimp connector engages the overlapping portions of thewrapper together in a position surrounding and adjacent the stem portionof the floral grouping, forming a crimped portion of the wrapper andthereby firmly binding the wrapper in a position about the floralgrouping. A portion of the wrapper surrounding the floral grouping maythen be detached from the wrapper, exposing the floral grouping.

The method may further comprise providing a pad of wrappers, the padhaving a top wrapper and wherein a strip of bonding material on eachwrapper is bondingly connected to a portion of an adjacent wrapper forcooperating to connect the wrappers into the pad. The strip of bondingmaterial on each wrapper releasably connects each wrapper to one otherwrapper whereby one of the wrappers can be releasably disconnected fromanother wrapper by pulling the wrappers apart. Each wrapper may furthercomprise a detaching element.

The wrapper used in the method is constructed from a material selectedfrom the group of materials consisting of paper (treated or untreated),foil, polymeric film, fabric (natural or synthetic, woven or unwoven),burlap, or combinations thereof. Each first or second surface of thewrapper may have a thickness in a range from less than about 1 mil toabout 30 mils.

The bonding material of the crimp connector may be selected from thegroup consisting of a pressure sensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heatsensitive adhesive or cohesive, a sonically sealable adhesive orcohesive, a vibratingly sealing adhesive or cohesive, or a chemicallysealing adhesive or cohesive.

The crimp connector may further comprise a cinching tab attached to thewrapper and having the bonding material disposed upon a portion of thecinching tab. Also, the crimp connector may comprise a bonding materialdisposed upon a portion of at least one surface of the wrapper. Morespecifically, the crimp connector may further comprise the bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the outer surface of at least one ofthe first or second surfaces of the wrapper.

More preferably, the crimp connector may further comprise the bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the inner surface of at least one ofthe first or second surfaces of the wrapper; or, the crimp connector maybe a bonding material disposed upon portions of both the inner surfacesand the outer surfaces of the first and second surfaces of the wrapper.The wrapper further comprises a detaching element for allowingdetachment of a portion of the wrapper.

In another version of the present invention, the wrapper furthercomprises a closure flap extending from the wrapper for enclosing eitheran upper end or a lower end or, alternatively, both the upper and lowerends of the wrapper.

In another version of the invention, the crimp connector may compriseboth a cinching tab for wrapping about the crimped portion of thewrapper, and a bonding material disposed elsewhere on a surface of thewrapper.

In another version, the wrapper further comprises a label bondingmaterial disposed upon a surface of the wrapper for affixing a label toa portion of the wrapper. This label bonding material may be disposed ona wrapper having a crimp connector as disclosed herein, or on a wrappernot having a crimp connector.

In an alternative version of the invention, the method for wrapping afloral grouping may include the steps of providing a floral groupinghaving an upper end and a stem portion, and providing a sheet ofmaterial. The sheet of material would comprise an upper surface, a lowersurface, a sheet connector and a crimp connector.

The sheet connector in this embodiment is disposed on at least a firstportion of the upper surface of the sheet of material for connectingportions of the upper surface to portions of the lower surface of thesheet of material during the wrapping step. The crimp connectorcomprises a bonding material and serves to hold overlapping portions ofthe sheet of material in a crimped position adjacent the stem portion ofthe floral grouping.

The next step is to place the floral grouping on the upper surface ofthe sheet of material and commence wrapping the sheet of material aboutthe floral grouping. The wrapping causes portions of the lower surfaceof the sheet of material to overlap other portions of the sheet ofmaterial and causes bonding of the overlapping portions of the sheet ofmaterial by contacting the sheet connector on the upper surface withadjacent overlapping portions of the sheet of material. The overlappedportion of the sheet of material is, therefore, bonded to otheroverlapping portions of the sheet of material with the sheet of materialsubstantially encompassing and surrounding a substantial portion of thestem portion of the floral grouping, forming a wrapper about the floralgrouping. Once wrapped, the wrapper generally has an opening extendingthrough a lower end thereof and an opening extending through an upperend thereof with a part of the stem portion of the floral groupingextending through the opening in the lower end and the upper end of thefloral grouping being exposed near the opening in the upper end thereof.

The final step is binding the sheet of material (i.e., the wrapper)about the floral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper together,causing at least one portion of the wrapper to overlap at least oneother portion of the wrapper. As the crimp connector engages theoverlapping portions of the wrapper in a position surrounding andadjacent the stem portion of the floral grouping, a crimped portion ofthe wrapper is formed thereby firmly binding the wrapper in a positionabout the floral grouping. A portion of the wrapper may then be detachedfrom the crimped portion of the wrapper.

Another version of the invention comprises a method for wrapping afloral grouping and affixing a label thereto. The method comprisesproviding a floral grouping and a wrapper, such as described above. Thewrapper has a crimp connector and a detaching element such as describedabove, and a label bonding material which comprises a bonding materialdisposed upon a portion of a surface of the wrapper for affixing a labelto a portion of the wrapper. A label is provided for affixing to thelabel bonding material. The steps for binding the floral grouping withthe wrapper are followed as described earlier, then the label is affixedto the wrapper.

In a similar fashion, the present invention may comprise wrapping afloral grouping with a sheet of material and affixing a label thereto.The sheet of material has a sheet connector as described above and acrimp connector and a detaching element, also described above.

The sheet of material further comprises a label bonding materialdisposed upon a portion of a surface of the sheet of material foraffixing a label to a portion of the sheet of material. A label isprovided for affixing to the label bonding material. The floral groupingis placed on the upper surface of the sheet of material. The sheet ofmaterial is then wrapped about the floral grouping, as described above,and the wrapper is bound about the floral grouping by crimping portionsof the wrapper together. Finally, the label is affixed to the wrapper.

In an alternative embodiment, the invention comprises a method forwrapping a floral grouping and affixing a label thereto, wherein thewrapper is a sheet of material having a sheet connector and a detachingelement, as described above, and a label bonding material disposed upona portion of a surface of the sheet of material for affixing a label toa portion of the sheet of material. A label is provided for affixing tothe label bonding material, and the floral grouping is placed on theupper surface of the sheet of material. The sheet of material is thenwrapped about the floral grouping as described above.

Finally, the label is affixed to the label bonding material of the sheetof material which comprises the wrapper. The label bonding material maybe disposed upon the upper surface of the sheet of material or upon thelower surface of the sheet of material. Furthermore, the sheet ofmaterial may further comprise a closure flap extending from the sheet ofmaterial for enclosing an upper end, a lower end or both the upper andlower ends of the wrapper, once the floral grouping has been wrappedwith the sheet of material. Further, a portion of the wrapper may laterbe removed via the detaching element.

The sheet of material may be provided from a pad of sheets of material,the pad having a top sheet of material and wherein the sheet connectorof each sheet of material is bondingly connected to a portion of anadjacent sheet of material to connect the sheets of material into thepad, and wherein each sheet further comprises a detaching element asdefined herein. In this instance, the sheet connector on each sheet ofmaterial releasably connects each sheet of material to one other sheetof material, whereby one of the sheets of material can be releasablydisconnected from another sheet of material by pulling the sheets ofmaterial apart.

The method may further comprise the step of wrapping the top sheet ofmaterial about a floral grouping by placing a portion of the top sheetof material over at least a portion of the floral grouping and rollingthe top sheet of material and the floral grouping and wrapping the topsheet of material about the floral grouping. The sheet connector on thetop sheet of material is bondingly connected to another portion of thetop sheet of material for securing the top sheet of material in awrapped position about the floral grouping and the top sheet of materialis removed from the pad of sheets of material as the top sheet ofmaterial is wrapped about the floral grouping.

The sheet of material may further be seen as comprising a first side, asecond side, a first end and a second end and the sheet connector is onthe upper surface of each sheet of material near one side of the sheetof material and extending a distance therefrom to the other side. Thestep of wrapping the top sheet of material about the floral groupingfurther comprises placing a portion of the top sheet of material nearthe first side thereof over a portion of the floral grouping and rollingthe top sheet of material and the floral grouping until the top sheet ofmaterial is rolled about the floral grouping. The sheet connector on thetop sheet of material bindingly connects to a portion of the top sheetof material as the top sheet of material and the floral grouping arerolled over the sheet connector. The top sheet of material may bedisconnected from the pad, as the top sheet of material and floralgrouping are rolled over the pad whereby the top sheet of material islifted from the pad and the bonding connection between the top sheet ofmaterial and a next sheet of material is disconnected.

The method may further comprise wrapping the top sheet of material aboutthe floral grouping and disconnecting the top sheet of material from thepad, leaving the next sheet of material forming a new top sheet ofmaterial; and wherein the steps of placing the floral grouping on thetop sheet of material and wrapping the top sheet of material about thefloral grouping are repeated with other floral groupings untilsubstantially all of the sheets of material in the pad have been wrappedabout the floral groupings.

As noted above, the sheet of material is constructed from a materialselected from the group of materials consisting of paper (treated oruntreated), foil, polymeric film, fabric (natural or synthetic, woven orunwoven), or burlap or combinations or laminations thereof. Each sheetof material may have a thickness in a range from less than about 1 milto about 30 mils.

As above, the bonding material of the sheet connector or of the crimpconnector may further comprise a bonding material selected from thegroup consisting of a pressure sensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heatsensitive adhesive or cohesive, a cold seal lacquer, adhesive ofcohesive, a sonically sealable adhesive or cohesive, a vibratinglysealing adhesive or cohesive, or a chemically sealing adhesive orcohesive.

As used herein, the term “detaching element” means any device attachedto or integral with the wrapper which enables or facilitates removal ordetachment of a portion of the wrapper from the remainder of thewrapper. The detaching element may include, but is not limited to,perforations, tear strips, zippers, creases and grooves.

Also as above, the crimp connector may further comprise a cinching tabattached to the sheet of material and having a bonding material disposedupon a portion thereof. The crimp connector may also comprise a strip ofbonding material disposed upon a portion of the upper or lower surfaceof the sheet of material. The sheet of material may further compriseclosure flaps extending from the sheet of material for enclosing theupper end, the lower end or both the upper end and lower end of thewrapper.

The purpose of the crimp connector, which comprises a strip of bondingmaterial, is to connect and hold overlapping portions of the sheet ofmaterial in a position about the floral grouping. Similarly, the purposeof the crimp connector which comprises a cinching tab attached to thesheet of material and having a bonding material disposed on a portionthereof, is to hold overlapping portions of the sheet of material in aposition about the floral grouping.

It is noted that the crimp connector may comprise either a strip ofbonding material disposed upon a portion of a surface of the sheet ofmaterial, or it may comprise a cinching tab attached to the sheet ofmaterial and having a bonding material disposed on a portion thereof, orthe crimp connector may comprise both a cinching tab and a bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the sheet of material.

In another version of the invention, the sheet of material may have alabel bonding material disposed upon a surface of the sheet of materialfor affixing a label to a portion of the sheet of material.

The sleeves or sheets of material as described herein may furthercomprise a reservoir, such as a pouch attached to a surface of thesleeve or sheet, for containing materials such as water, preservatives,nutrients, gels, foams or decorative materials.

The sleeves or sheets of material described herein may further comprisehandles or holes to allow the wrapped floral grouping to be carried moreeasily. These handles and portions of the sleeves or sheets of materialwith holes may be detachable from the remainder of the sleeves or sheetsof material. Examples of sleeves and sheets with handles can be found inco-pending U.S. Ser. No. 07/922,971, entitled “A WRAPPER WITH HANDLE FORWRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING,” now abandoned, and U.S. Ser. No.08/092,678, entitled “FLORAL GROUPING WRAPPER WITH HANDLE INCORPORATEDTHEREIN,” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,251, both of which are expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-3

Shown in FIG. 1 and designated therein by the general reference numeral10 is a sheet of material (also referred to herein as “sheet” and “firstsheet” of material). The sheet of material 10 has a first end 12, asecond end 13, a first side 14, a second side 15, an upper surface 16and a lower surface 17.

The sheet of material 10 further comprises a sheet connector, a crimpconnector and a detaching element. The sheet connector comprises aclosure bonding material which is described in more detail below. Thecrimp connector comprises at least a bonding material for connectingoverlapping portions of the wrapper in a position about stems of afloral grouping for binding the wrapper firmly to the floral grouping.The detaching element, as noted above, comprises a device, such asperforations, for allowing a portion of the sheet 10 to be detached onceit has been wrapped about a floral grouping. In the version of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 1, the crimp connector comprises acinching tab 18 having a first end 19, a second end 20 and a bondingmaterial 21 disposed on a portion of the cinching tab 18. The cinchingtab 18 is attached at the second end 20 to a portion of the sheet ofmaterial 10. In FIG. 1, the cinching tab 18 is shown attached to aportion of the sheet 10 near the first side 14 of the sheet 10, but itwill be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the cinchingtab 18 can be attached to any portion of the sheet 10 which enables thetab 18 to function in accordance with the invention as presentlycontemplated and as described in further detail below.

A closure bonding material 24 forms the sheet connector and may bedisposed on the upper surface 16 of the sheet of material 10.Alternatively, the sheet of material 10 may be free of such a closurebonding material 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the closure bonding material24, if present, is disposed in a preferred embodiment adjacent the firstside 14 of the sheet of material 10 and extends between the first andthe second ends 12 and 13, respectively, of the sheet of material 10. Asshown in FIG. 1, the closure bonding material 24 is disposed on theupper surface 16 in a strip of closure bonding material 24, although theclosure bonding material 24 also could be applied to the upper surface16 of the sheet of material 10 in the form of spaced apart spots or theclosure bonding material 24 also could be disposed on the upper surface16 of the sheet of material 10 in any other geometric form and in anypattern, including covering the entire upper surface 16 of the sheet ofmaterial 10. The term “spot” or “spots” includes any geometric shape ofspot including, but not limited to, what is commonly referred to asstrips.

In this version of the invention, the detaching element is representedby perforations 25 which are disposed in a predetermined pattern on thesheet 10 for allowing separation of a portion of the sheet 10. Thepattern of perforations 25 shown in FIG. 1 is but one of manyconceivable patterns.

The sheet of material 10 may be any shape and a square or rectangularshape is shown in FIG. 1 only by way of example. The sheet of material10 for example only may be square, rectangular, circular or any othergeometric shape such as heart shaped, for example only.

The sheet of material 10 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterial or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. Any thickness of the sheet of material 10 may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention as long as the sheet of material10 is wrappable about an object, such as a floral grouping or plant, asdescribed herein. The layers of material comprising the sheet ofmaterial 10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separatelayers, and the layers of material comprising the sheet of material 10need not be uniform in shape or composition.

Shown in FIG. 2 is a second sheet of material 26 (also referred toherein as “second sheet” or “sheet of material 26”). The second sheet ofmaterial 26 has a first end 28, a second end 30, a first side 32, asecond side 34, an upper surface 36, a lower surface 38, and a detachingelement such as represented by perforations 27 similar in nature to theperforations 25 in sheet 10. The second sheet of material 26 ispreferably constructed of paper. The term “paper” as used herein meanstreated or untreated paper, corrugated paper or cardboard or any otherform of paper material.

The first sheet of material 10 has a length 40 extending between thefirst and the second sides 14 and 15, respectively, of the first sheetof material 10. The first sheet of material 10 also has a width 41extending between the first and the second ends 12 and 13, respectively,of the first sheet of material 10. The cinching tab 18 of the sheet ofmaterial 10 has a length 42 and a width 43.

The second sheet of material 26 has a length 44 extending between thefirst and the second sides 32 and 34, respectively, of the second sheetof material 26. The second sheet of material 26 has a width 46 extendingbetween the first and the second ends 28 and 30, respectively, of thesecond sheet of material 26. In a preferred embodiment, the length 44 ofthe second sheet of material 26 is less than the length 40 of the firstsheet of material 10, as shown in FIG. 3, so that, when the first sheetof material 10 is disposed adjacent the second sheet of material 26, aportion of the first sheet of material 10 adjacent the first side 14thereof extends a distance beyond the first side 32 of the second sheetof material 26, in a manner and for reason which will be described ingreater detail below.

The first sheet of material has a thickness in a range from about 0.1mil to about 30 mils and preferably the thickness of the first sheet ofmaterial is in a range from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mils. The firstsheet of material 10 is constructed of a material which is flexible.

The second sheet of material 26 has a thickness in a range from about0.1 mil to about 30 mils and preferably in a range from about 0.1 mil toabout 10 mils. The second sheet of material 26 is flexible, butrelatively rigid compared to the first sheet of material 10.

The second sheet of material 26 may be any shape and a square orrectangular shape is shown in FIG. 2 only by way of example. The secondsheet of material, for example only, may be square, rectangular,circular or any other geometric shape.

The second sheet of material 26 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterials or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. Any thickness of the second sheet of material 26 may beutilized in accordance with the present invention as long as the secondsheet of material 26 is wrappable about an object such as a floralgrouping or plant, as described herein, and as long as the second sheetof material 26 provides the rigidity described herein or the absorbencydescribed herein or both. The layers of material comprising the secondsheet of material 26 may be connected together or laminated or may beseparate layers.

In operation, when a second sheet of material 26 is desired in additionto the first sheet of material 10, the second sheet of material 26 isplaced adjacent the first sheet of material 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Inthis position, the lower surface 38 of the second sheet of material 26is disposed adjacent the upper surface 16 of the first sheet of material10. The width 41 of the first sheet of material 10 is about equal to thewidth 46 of the second sheet of material 26 so that, when the first andthe second sheets of material 10 and 26 are disposed adjacent eachother, the first end 28 of the second sheet of material 26 is generallyaligned with the first end 12 of the first sheet of material 10; thesecond end 30 of the second sheet of material 26 is generally alignedwith the second end 13 of the first sheet of material 10; the secondside 15 of the first sheet of material 10 is generally aligned with thesecond side 34 of the second sheet of material 26; and the first side 14of the first sheet of material 10 extends a distance beyond the firstside 32 of the second sheet of material 26 so that the closure bondingmaterial 24 on the upper surface 16 of the first sheet of material 10 isexposed and not covered by the second sheet of material 26.

It should be noted that the first and the second sheets of material 10and 26 can have virtually identical lengths 40 and 44. In this case, thesecond sheet of material 26 is disposed on the first sheet of material10 in such a manner that the second side 34 of the second sheet ofmaterial 26 extends a distance beyond the second side 15 of the firstsheet of material 10, whereby the first side 14 of the first sheet ofmaterial 10 is spaced a distance from the first side 32 of the secondsheet of material 26, thereby leaving the closure bonding material 24 onthe first sheet of material 10 exposed and not covered by the secondsheet of material 26. Multiple sheets of material 10 and 26 may also beused. Moreover, when multiple sheets of material 10 and 26 are used incombination, the sheets of material 10 and 26 need not be uniform insize or shape. Finally, it will be appreciated that the sheets ofmaterial 10 and 26 shown in all embodiments herein are substantiallyflat.

In an alternative embodiment, the detaching element may be disposed onlyon the first sheet 10, such that when it is desired to detach a portionof the first sheet 10 via the perforations 25, the second sheet 26 isleft intact and thereby exposed.

As noted earlier, the sheet connector (closure boning material 24) maybe disposed on the upper surface 16 of the first sheet of material 10.The closure bonding material 24 may be applied as a strip or as spots orother shapes. One method for disposing the closure bonding material 24,in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637,entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued to Weder et al.,on May 12, 1992, and which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

The first sheet of material 10 can be utilized alone or in combinationwith the second sheet of material 26 to wrap a floral grouping. “Floralgrouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificial flowers, asingle flower, other fresh and/or artificial plants or other floralmaterials and may include other secondary plants and/or ornamentation orartificial or natural materials which add to the aesthetics of theoverall floral arrangement. The floral grouping comprises a bloom orfoliage portion and a stem portion. However, it will be appreciated thatthe floral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage(not shown). The term “floral grouping” may be used interchangeablyherein with the term “floral arrangement”.

The first sheet of material 10 or the second sheet of material 26 may beconstructed of a single layer of material or a plurality of layers ofthe same or different types of materials. Any thickness of the first andsecond sheets of material 10 and 26 may be utilized in accordance withthe present invention as long as the first and second sheets of material10 or 26 may be wrapped or formed about at least a portion of a flowerpot or a floral grouping, as described herein. Additionally, aninsulating material, such as bubble film, preferably one of two or morelayers, can be utilized in order to provide additional protection forthe item wrapped therein.

In a preferred embodiment, the first sheet of material 10 is constructedfrom two polypropylene films (a 20″×15″ sheet of Mobil 270 ABW whiteopaque film laminated to a 20″×15″ sheet of Mobil 220 AB clear film)having a thickness in a range of from less than about 1.0 mil to about2.5 mils. The polypropylene films comprising the first sheet of material10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers.

The sheet of material 10 is constructed from any suitable wrappingmaterial that is capable of being wrapped about a floral grouping.Preferably, the sheet of material 10 comprises paper (untreated ortreated in any manner), foil, polymeric film, fabric (woven or nonwovenor synthetic or natural), burlap, or combinations thereof.

The term “polymeric film” means a man-made polymer, such as apolypropylene, or a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. Apolymeric film is relatively strong and not as subject to tearing(substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.

The sheet of material 10 or 26 may vary in color. Further, the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 26 may consist of designs or decorative patterns whichare printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or otherprinting materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to thesurface of the sheet of material 10 or 26 is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic OrganicPolymer,” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992, and which is herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 26 may have various colorings, coatings, flocking and/ormetallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentation appliedseparately or simultaneously, or may be characterized totally orpartially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent or thelike, qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occur aloneor in combination and may be applied to the upper and/or lower surfaceof the sheet of material 10 or 26. Moreover, each surface of the sheetof material 10 or 26 may vary in the combination of suchcharacteristics. The sheet of material 10 or 26 itself may be opaque,translucent or partially clear or tinted transparent.

Embodiments of FIGS. 4-8

Referring now to FIG. 4, a bonding material 24 a may also be applied toeither an upper surface 16 a of a first sheet of material 10 a (alsoreferred to herein as “first sheet”), or to a lower surface (not shown)of a second sheet of material 26 a (also referred to herein as “secondsheet”), in a plurality of patches 48 for the purpose of bonding theupper surface 16 a of the first sheet 10 a to the lower surface of thesecond sheet 26 a. A detaching element, such as perforations 25 a, isdisposed in each of the first sheet 10 a and second sheet 26 a.

Shown in FIG. 5 is a modified first sheet of material 10 b connected toa modified second sheet of material 26 b. The first sheet of material 10b is constructed exactly like the first sheet of material 10. The secondsheet of material 26 b is constructed like the second sheet of material26 described in detail before and shown in FIG. 2, except the secondsheet of material 26 b includes a bonding material 60 disposed on alower surface 38 b of the second sheet of material 26 b. The bondingmaterial 60 is in the form of a plurality of spaced apart spots similarto that shown in FIG. 4. The lower surface 38 b of the second sheet ofmaterial 26 b is bondingly connected to an upper surface 16 b of thefirst sheet of material 10 b by way of the bonding material 60. Sincethe bonding material 60 is in the form of a plurality of spaced apartspots, a plurality of spaced apart spaces 62 (only one of the spaces 62being designated by reference numeral in FIG. 5) are formed between thelower surface 38 b of the second sheet of material 26 b and the uppersurface 16 b of the first sheet of material 10 b. The spaces 62 provideair gaps which form an insulation when the first and the second sheetsof material 10 b and 26 b are wrapped about a floral grouping in amanner and for reasons like those described herein.

Shown in FIG. 6 is a modified first sheet of material 10 c connected toa modified second sheet of material 26 c. The first sheet of material 10c is constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10 c includes a bonding material 64disposed on an upper surface 16 c of the first sheet of material 10 c.The bonding material 64 is in the form of a plurality of spaced apartspots similar to that shown in FIG. 5. A lower surface 38 c of thesecond sheet of material 26 c is bondingly connected to the uppersurface 16 c of the first sheet of material 10 c by way of the bondingmaterial 64. Since the bonding material 64 is in the form of a pluralityof spaced apart spots, a plurality of spaces 66 (only one of the spaces66 being designated by a reference numeral in FIG. 6) are formed betweenthe lower surface 38 c of the second sheet of material 26 c and theupper surface 16 c of the first sheet of material 10 c. The spaces 66provide air gaps which form an insulation when the first and the secondsheets of material 10 c and 26 c are wrapped about a floral grouping ina manner and for reasons like those described herein in connection withFIG. 5.

Shown in FIG. 7 is a modified first sheet of material 10 d connected toa modified second sheet of material 26 d. The first sheet of material 10d is constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10 d includes a bonding material 68on an upper surface 16 d thereof. The second sheet of material 26 d isconstructed exactly like the second sheet of material 26 shown in FIG.2, except the second sheet of material 26 d includes a plurality ofspaced apart raised portions 70. The raised portions 70 may be formed byembossing the second sheet of material 26 d or forming corrugations inthe second sheet of material 26 d or in any other manner desired in anyparticular application.

The upper surface 16 d of the first sheet of material 10 d is disposedgenerally adjacent a lower surface 38 d of the second sheet of material26 d or, more particularly, adjacent the raised portions 70 on thesecond sheet of material 26 d. In this position, the raised portions 70are bonded to the upper surface 16 d of the first sheet of material 10 dby way of the bonding material 68 to connect the first sheet of material10 d to the second sheet of material 26 d.

The spaced apart raised portions 70 on the second sheet of material 26 dform a plurality of spaces 72 (only one of the spaces 72 beingdesignated by a reference numeral in FIG. 7) between the first sheet ofmaterial 10 d and the second sheet of material 26 d in a connectedposition of the first and the second sheets of material 10 d and 26 dfor providing insulation when the first and second sheets of material 10d and 26 d are connected together and wrapped about a floral grouping ina manner like those described herein.

Shown in FIG. 8 is a modified first sheet of material 10 e connected toa modified second sheet of material 26 e. The first sheet of material 10e is constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10 e includes a plurality of spacedapart raised portions 74. The raised portions 74 may be formed in thefirst sheet of material 10 e by embossing the first sheet of material 10e or forming corrugations in the first sheet of material 10 e or in anyother suitable manner. The second sheet of material 26 e is constructedexactly like the second sheet of material 26 shown in FIG. 2, except thesecond sheet of material 26 e includes a bonding material 76 disposed ona lower surface 38 e thereof.

In operation, an upper surface 16 e of the first sheet of material 10 eis disposed generally adjacent the lower surface 38 e of the secondsheet of material 26 e or, more particularly, the raised portions 74 onthe first sheet of material 10 e are disposed adjacent the lower surface38 e of the second sheet of material 26 e. In this position, the firstsheet of material 10 e is bondingly connected to the second sheet ofmaterial 26 e by way of the bonding material 76 on the second sheet ofmaterial 26 e or, more particularly, the bonding material 76 on thesecond sheet of material 26 e bondingly engages and bondingly connectsto the raised portions 74 on the first sheet of material 10 e to connectthe first sheet of material 10 e to the second sheet of material 26 e.In this connected position of the first sheet of material 10 e and thesecond sheet of material 26 e, the raised portions 74 cooperate to forma plurality of spaces 78 (only one of the spaces 78 being designated bya reference numeral in FIG. 8) between the first sheet of material 10 eand the second sheet of material 26 e. The spaces 78 cooperate toprovide an insulation when the first and the second sheets of material10 e and 26 e are wrapped about a floral grouping or plant in a mannerand for reasons like that described herein.

Although not indicated in the FIGS. 5-8, each sheet of materialdescribed therein includes a detaching element as described herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 9-11

Referring now to FIG. 9, a plurality of individual sheets of material 10f (also referred to herein as “sheet”) are connected linearly togetherto form a roll 80. Preferably, the plurality of sheets of material 10 fin the roll 80 are connected by perforations 82, as illustrated in FIG.9. Such a roll 80 permits one sheet of material 10 f to be withdrawnfrom the roll 80, then severed or disconnected from the roll 80.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10, the roll 80 may simply be formed asa continuous roll 80 of wrapping material without perforations, whereina plurality of sheets of material 10 f may be removed from the roll 80by unrolling a portion of the roll 80, and using a separate cuttingelement (not shown) to sever the unrolled portion of the roll 80 ofmaterial to form the sheet of material 10 f. The roll 80 may also becontained within a dispenser 84, as illustrated in FIG. 10. When theroll 80 is disposed in the dispenser 84, a portion of the material isagain unrolled, and a serrated cutting edge 86 contained within thedispenser 84, or a separate cutting element (not shown), severs theunrolled portion of the material from the roll 80 to form the sheet ofmaterial 10 f. Any number of sheets of material 10 f may form the roll80 as long as it is possible to withdraw at least one sheet 10 f fromthe roll 80 as described herein.

Each sheet 10 f of roll 80 is equipped with a cinching tab 18 f and mayinclude a detaching element, i.e., perforations 25 f, as shown in FIG.9, wherein the cinching tab 18 f is integral with one end or side of thesheet 10 f. Alternatively, the cinching tab 18 f may be affixable to thesheet 10 f after the roll 80 has been unrolled to expose the sheet 10 f,as shown in FIG. 10, and the detaching element may be added later byadding perforations to the sheet 10 f.

As shown in FIG. 11, the first and the second sheets of materialdescribed herein can be provided in the form of a roll of first andsecond sheets of material wherein the first and the second sheets ofmaterial are unrolled from the roll of first and second sheets ofmaterial and the first and the second sheets of material are severedfrom the roll, either by perforations at spaced apart locations in theroll or by cutting the first and the second sheets of material from theroll. It also should be noted that additional sheets of material may becombined with the first and the second sheets of material, if so desiredin a particular application.

Shown in FIG. 11 is a roll of material 90 comprising a first material 92and a second material 94 with the second material 94 being disposedadjacent the first material 92. The first material 92 is constructed ofany of the materials described before with respect to the first sheet ofmaterial 10. The second material 94 is constructed of any of thematerials described before with respect to the second sheet of material26.

The roll of material 90 may be disposed in a dispenser (not shown)having an opening through which the first and second materials 92 and 94may be withdrawn from the roll of material 90. A cutting edge (notshown) may be disposed on the dispenser near the opening. The cuttingedge may be a sawtooth type of edge or the cutting edge may be any othertype of edge or device suitable for cutting a portion of the materials92 and 94 from the roll of material 90 and the cutting edge may beconnected to the dispenser or may be a separate component if desired ina particular application. The dispenser may further comprise aperforator for inserting perforations into the roll of material 90 at apredetermined location.

The roll of material 90 has a leading edge 102. In operation, theleading edge 102 is gripped or a portion of the first and/or the secondmaterials 92, 94 is gripped and the first and the second materials 92,94 are unrolled and withdrawn from the roll of material 90 in adirection 104. The first and the second materials 92 and 94 arewithdrawn or unrolled from the roll of material 90 until desired lengthsof the first and the second materials 92 and 94 have been withdrawn fromthe roll of material 90. In this position, portions of the first and thesecond materials 92 and 94 are disposed adjacent a cutting edge. Thefirst and the second materials 92 and 94 then are maneuvered to pass thefirst and the second materials 92 and 94 over the cutting edge therebysevering a portion of the first and second materials 92 and 94 extendinga distance from the leading edge 102 thereof from the roll of material90. The portion of the first and the second materials 92 and 94withdrawn from the roll of material 90 and severed from the roll ofmaterial 90 comprise the first and the second sheets of material 10, 26,as described herein.

The first and the second materials 92 and 94 in the roll of material 90may be connected or unconnected. Further, the roll of material 90 maycomprise two rolls of material (not shown) with one of the rolls ofmaterial comprising the first material 92 and the other roll of materialcomprising the second material 94. In this last-mentioned embodiment,the first material 92 is withdrawn from the first roll of material andthe second material 94 is withdrawn from the second roll of materialabout simultaneously so that the first and the second materials 92 and94 are provided in a manner as generally shown in FIG. 11 for severingfrom the first and second rolls of material to provide the first and thesecond sheets of material 10, 26, as described herein. The term “roll ofmaterial” as used herein is intended to encompass two or more rolls inthe manner generally described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the roll of material 90 is supported on a generallymounted shaft 106. The first and the second materials 92 and 94 arewithdrawn from the roll of material 90 until predetermined lengths ofthe first and the second materials 92 and 94 have been withdrawn fromthe roll of material 90. In this position, portions of the first and thesecond materials 92 and 94 are disposed under a knife edge 108. Theknife edge 108 is connected to an actuator 110 adapted to move the knifeedge 108 in a direction 112 and in a direction 114. When thepredetermined lengths of the first and the second materials 92 and 94have been withdrawn from the roll of material 90, the actuator 110actuates to move the knife edge 108 in the direction 112 to a positionwherein the knife edge 108 severingly engages the first and secondmaterials 92 and 94 to severingly cut a portion of the first and thesecond materials 92 and 94 from the roll of materials 90 to provide thefirst and the second sheets of material 10, 26, as described herein. Theactuator 110 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a motorand gear arrangement or any other form of arrangement suitable formoving the knife edge 108 in the directions 112 and 114. After the knifeedge 108 has cuttingly severed the desired portion of the first and thesecond sheets of material 92 and 94 from the roll of material 90, theactuator 110 is actuated to move the knife edge 108 in the direction 114to a storage position disposed a distance above the first and the secondmaterials 92 and 94 as opposed to the cutting position previouslydescribed.

Embodiment of FIG. 12

Shown in FIG. 12 is a pad 116 of first sheets of material, designated bythe reference numerals 10 f, 10 g, and 10 h, and a plurality of secondsheets of material, designated in FIG. 12 by the reference numerals 26f, 26 g and 26 h. The first sheets of material 10 f, 10 g and 10 h maybe constructed like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed in detail before, and the second sheets of material 26 f, 26 gand 26 h may be constructed like the second sheet of material 26 shownin FIG. 2 and described in detail before, or like any of the other firstand the second sheets of material described herein. Each of the firstsheets of material 10 f-10 h and the second sheets of material 26 f-26 hincludes a detaching element (not shown), as described herein. The firstand the second sheets of material 10 f, 10 g, 10 h, 26 f, 26 g and 26 hare connected in the form of the pad 116 with a closure bonding material24 f, 24 g and 24 h cooperating to connect the first sheets of material10 f, 10 g and 10 h in the form of the pad 116. The second sheets ofmaterial 26 f, 26 g and 26 h may be connected to the respective firstsheets of material 10 f, 10 g and 10 h or may be interleaved between theadjacent first sheets of material 10 f, 10 g and 10 h in the pad 116. Inan alternative embodiment (not shown), the second sheets of material 26f, 26 g and 26 h may be connected to form the pad 116 with the firstsheets of material 10 f, 10 g and 10 h being interleaved in therespective second sheets of material 26 f, 26 g and 26 h and/orconnected thereto. In operation, a floral grouping may be placed on thetop sheet of material in the pad 116 and the first and the second sheetsof material 10 f-h and 26 f-h, respectively, comprising the top sheet ofmaterial may be wrapped about the floral grouping and removed from thepad 116. In the alternative, one of the first sheets of material 10 f,10 g or 10 h along with the adjacent second sheet of material 26 f, 26 gor 26 h may be removed from the pad 116 and then wrapped about thefloral grouping or a flower pot.

Embodiments of FIGS. 13-18

As noted above, the present invention contemplates using the sheet ofmaterial 10 having the crimp connector comprising the cinching tab 18 towrap a floral grouping. A floral grouping 120 having a stem end 122(also referred to herein as “stems”) and a bloom end 124 is disposed onthe upper surface 16 of the sheet of material 10 (FIG. 13). The sheet ofmaterial 10 then is wrapped about the floral grouping 120 by taking thesecond side 15 of the sheet of material 10 and rolling the sheet ofmaterial 10 in a direction 126 about the floral grouping 120 (FIG. 14)and wrapping the perforations 25 circumferentially about the floralgrouping 120. The sheet of material 10 is continued to be rolled aboutthe floral grouping 120 until a portion of the sheet connector, i.e.,the closure bonding material 24, is disposed adjacent a portion of thelower surface 17 of the sheet of material 10 and brought into bondingcontact or engagement therewith (FIG. 15) thereby bondingly connectingthe closure bonding material 24 on the upper surface 16 of the sheet ofmaterial 10 to a portion of the lower surface 17 of the sheet ofmaterial 10, to secure the first sheet of material 10 in a wrappedcondition about the floral grouping 120 to provide a wrapper 130 wrappedabout the floral grouping 120, as shown in FIG. 15.

Such a method of wrapping is shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat.No. 5,181,364, entitled, “Wrapping a Floral Grouping With Sheets HavingAdhesive Or Cohesive Material Applied Thereto,” which issued Jan. 26,1993. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364 is hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein.

In the wrapped condition with the sheet of material 10 wrapped about thefloral grouping 120 as shown in FIG. 15, the wrapper 130 forms a conicalshape with an open upper end 132 and an open lower end 134. The wrapper130 covers a portion of the bloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120. Aportion of the stem end 122 of the floral grouping 120 extends throughthe open lower end 134 of the wrapper 130. The perforations 25 extendcircumferentially about the stem end 122 or about a portion of the bloomend 124 of the floral grouping 120.

The wrapper 130 is caused to be more tightly wrapped about the floralgrouping 120 by grasping the cinching tab 18 and pulling the cinchingtab 18 in a direction 135 about the lower portion of the wrapper 130(FIG. 15). Once the cinching tab 18 has been wrapped tightly about thelower portion of the wrapper 130, the portion of the cinching tab 18having the bonding material 21 applied thereto is engagingly pressedagainst the wrapper 130 to affix the cinching tab 18 to the wrapper 130,thereby causing the lower portion of the wrapper 130 to be crimpinglywrapped about the stem end 122 of the floral grouping 120 for inhibitingthe floral grouping 120 from slipping or moving excessively within thewrapper 130. If desired, the upper portion of the wrapper 130 may beremoved by detaching it at the perforations 25 by a method well known inthe art, thus leaving the lower portion of the wrapper 130 crimped abouta portion of the floral grouping 120.

The crimping may be conducted as the floral grouping 120 is wrapped (notshown), or the crimping may be conducted after the floral grouping 120is wrapped by crimping the wrapper 130 in the area of the bondingmaterial 24. Such crimping may be conducted by hand, by grasping andsubstantially encompassing with one or more hands the lower end of thewrapper 130, in the area of the bonding material 24, and evenly andfirmly squeezing the wrapper 130 about the area of the bonding material24, thereby pressing and gathering both the wrapper 130 against itselfand against the stem end. 122 of the floral grouping 120. The wrapper130 may also be crimped by using both a crimping motion and a turningmotion to create a twisted crimping (not shown), resulting in a wrapper130 which is both crimped, as described previously, and which is twistedabout the stem end 122 (the wrapper 130 near the stem end 122 beingrotated between about one-eighth of a turn to about a full turn)primarily in the area near the stem end 122 of the floral grouping 120.Such crimping as described above may also be conducted by any instrumentor machine used for gathering or crimping materials. The cinching tab 18may be utilized to both crimp the wrapper 130 in a crimped condition, asdescribed above, that is, the cinching tab 18 may perform the crimping,as well as retaining the wrapper 130 in a crimped condition.

At least a portion of the floral grouping 120 is disposed within thewrapper 130. In some applications, the stem end 122 of the floralgrouping 120 extends through the open lower end,134 of the wrapper 130,as described before. The bloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120 isdisposed near the open upper end 132 of the floral grouping 120 and thebloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120 is visible via the open upperend 132 of the wrapper 130. In some instances, the bloom end 124 of thefloral grouping 120 may extend beyond the open upper end 132 of thewrapper 130. In some applications, the upper end 132 of the wrapper 130may be closed if desired. In some applications, the lower end 134 of thewrapper 130 may be closed if desired.

The wrapper 130, formed from the sheet of material 10, as shown in inFIGS. 15 and 16, is generally conically shaped. The sheet of material 10may also be wrapped about the floral grouping 120 to form acylindrically shaped wrapper 136, as shown in FIGS. 17-18, or any othershaped wrapper if desired in a particular application. When the sheet ofmaterial 10 is wrapped cylindrically about the floral grouping 120 asshown in FIG. 17, the cinching tab 18 is disposed about the wrapper 136in exactly the same way as the conically shaped wrapper 130 shown inFIG. 16, yet still maintaining a generally cylindrical shape as shown inFIG. 18.

When the floral grouping 120 is wrapped using both a first sheet ofmaterial 10 and a second sheet material 26, the floral grouping 120 isdisposed on the upper surface 36 of the second sheet of material 26.First and second sheets of material 10 and 26, which are placedsimilarly to the placement shown in FIG. 3, are then wrapped about thefloral grouping 120 in substantially the same manner as a single firstsheet of material 10 is wrapped about the floral grouping 120, to arriveat a conically or cylindrically wrapped floral grouping 120, asdescribed above, whereby a closure bonding material 24 on the firstsheet is brought into bonding contact or engagement therewith therebybondingly connecting the closure bonding material 24 on the uppersurface 16 of the first sheet of material 10 to a position of the lowersurface 17 on the first sheet of material 10.

When used in the context of wrapping a floral grouping 120, the secondsheet of material 26 is preferably constructed of a relatively rigid,flexible sheet of material capable of being wrapped about the floralgrouping 120. The second sheet of material 26 cooperates to add rigidityto the first sheet of material 10 to support the first and the secondsheets of material 10 and 26 wrapped about the floral grouping 120 inthe form of the wrapper 130 or 136. Also, the second sheet of material26 preferably is constructed of an insulation type of material forproviding insulation when the first and the second sheets of material 10and 26 are wrapped about the floral grouping 120 to form the wrapper 130or 136. The second sheet of material 26 also preferably is capable ofabsorbing water so that, when the first and the second sheets ofmaterial 10 and 26 are wrapped about the floral grouping 120 to form thewrapper 130 or 136, the second sheet of material 26 is disposed adjacentthe floral grouping 120 and absorbs water from the floral grouping 120.

In addition, the second sheet of material 26 may be disposed on theouter surface of the wrapper 130 or 136, rather than the inner surfaceof the wrapper 130 or 136 adjacent the floral grouping 120, if desiredin a particular application.

The term “bonding material” when used herein means an adhesive,preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where thebonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must beplaced on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondinglyengaging with the cohesive material. The term “bonding material” alsoincludes materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, theadjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact and thenheat must be applied to effect the seal. The term “bonding material”also includes materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable.The term “bonding material” when used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer which may be applied to the sheet of material and, in thisinstance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be applied toeffect the sealing.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any type ofmaterial or thing which can be used to effect the bonding or connectingof the two adjacent portions of the material or sheet of material toeffect the connection or bonding described herein. The term “bondingmaterial” also includes ties, labels, bands, ribbons, strings, tape,staples or combinations thereof. Some of the bonding materials wouldsecure the ends of the material while other bonding material may bindthe circumference of the wrapper. Another way to secure the wrapping isto heat seal the ends of the material to another portion of thematerial. One way to do this is to contact the ends with an iron ofsufficient heat to heat seal the material.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any heat orchemically shrinkable material, and static electrical or otherelectrical means, magnetic means, mechanical or barb-type fasteningmeans or clamps, curl-type characteristics of the film or materialsincorporated in the sheet of material which can cause the material totake on certain shapes, and any type of welding method which may weldportions of the sheet to itself or to the pot, or to both the sheetitself and the pot.

“Cling Wrap or material” when used herein means any material which iscapable of connecting to the sheet of material and/or itself uponcontacting engagement during the wrapping process and is wrappable aboutan item whereby portions of the cling material contactingly engage andconnect to other portions of the wrapping material for generallysecuring the sheet of material wrapped about at least a portion of theitem. This connecting engagement is preferably temporary in that thewrapping material may be easily removed without tearing same, i.e., thecling material “clings” to the wrapping material. A wrapping materialwhich remains securely connected to and about the wrapped item until thewrapping material is torn therefrom.

The cling material is constructed and treated if necessary, frompolyethylene such as Cling Wrap made by Glad®, First Brands Corporation,Danbury, Conn. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the thickness of the sheet of material utilized, i.e., generally,the thicker and therefore heavier sheet of material may require athicker and therefore stronger cling material. The cling material willrange in thickness from less than about 0.2 mil to about 10 mils, andpreferably less than about 0.5 mil to about 2.5 mils and most preferablyfrom less than about 0.6 mil to about 2 mils. However, any thickness ofcling material may be utilized in accordance with the present inventionwhich permits the cling material to function as described herein. Itwill be appreciated that the cinching tab 18, the sheet of material 10,or any portion of either, may comprise cling material.

The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term“botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term “band” when used herein means any material which may be securedabout an object such as a flower pot, such bands commonly being referredto as elastic bands, rubber bands or non-elastic bands and also includesany other type of material such as an elastic or non-elastic string orelastic piece of material, non-elastic piece of material, a round pieceof material, a flat piece of material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip,a piece of plastic strip, a piece of wire, a tie wrap or a twist tie orcombinations thereof or any other device capable of gathering the sheetof material to removably or substantially permanently form a crimpedportion and secure the crimped portion formed in the sheet of materialwhich may be secured about an object such as the flower pot. The bandalso may include a bow if desired in a particular application. Such aband may be included as a part of the cinching tab 18 or may comprisethe cinching tab 18, however, the cinching tab 18 may not comprise aband, and the cinching tab 18 may be used without a band attachedthereto as well.

The sheet of material 10 and/or 26 used herein may further comprise atleast one scent (not shown). Examples of scents utilized herein include(but are not limited to) floral scents (flower blossoms, or any portionof a plant), food scents (chocolate, sugar, fruits), herb or spicescents (cinnamon), and the like. Additional examples of scents includeflowers (such as roses, daisies, lilacs), plants (such as fruits,vegetables, grasses, trees), foods (for example, candies, cookies,cake), food condiments (such as honey, sugar, salt), herbs, spices,woods, roots, and the like, or any combination of the foregoing. Suchscents are known in the art, and are commercially available.

The scent may be disposed upon the sheet of material 10 and/or 26 byspraying the scent thereupon, painting the scent thereupon, brushing thescent thereupon, lacquering the scent thereupon, immersing the sheet ofmaterial 10 and/or 26 in a scent-containing liquid, exposing the sheetof material 10 and/or 26 to scent-containing gas, or any combinationthereof.

The scent may be contained within a lacquer, or other liquid, before itis disposed upon the sheet of material 10 and/or 26. The scent may alsobe contained within a dye, ink, and/or pigment (not shown). Such dyes,inks and pigments are known in the art, and are commercially available,and may be disposed upon or incorporated in the sheet of material 10and/or 26 by any method described herein or known in the art.

Embodiments of FIGS. 19A-20B

Shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B and designated by the reference numeral 10 iis a sheet of material (also referred to herein as a “sheet”) having afirst end 12 i and a second end 13 i, a first side 14 i and a secondside 15 i and having an upper surface 16 i and a lower surface 17 i.Sheet 10 i is exactly the same as the sheet 10 shown in FIG. 1 exceptthat the crimp connector is not a cinching tab but is, instead, a stripof bonding material 140 i disposed upon one of the upper or lowersurfaces 16 i or 17 i of the sheet 10 i. Disposed upon the upper surface16 i of the sheet 10 i is a wrapper connector comprising a strip ofbonding material designated by the numeral 24 i which covers a portionof the upper surface 16 i of the sheet of material 10 i and may besimilar to the bonding material 24 the of sheet 10. The sheet 10 ifurther includes a detaching element, i.e., perforations 25 i, asdescribed above for perforations 25. Additionally, as indicated in FIGS.19A and 19B, the crimp connector comprising the strip of bondingmaterial 140 is disposed on the upper surface 16 i of the sheet 10 i.Shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B is a sheet of material 10 j exactly the sameas the sheet 10 i of FIG. 19A, except that the crimp connector is abonding material 140 j disposed on a portion of a lower surface 17 j ofthe sheet of material 10 j.

Embodiments of FIGS. 21-26

Shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 is the sheet of material 10 i herein beforedescribed with reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B. Disposed upon the uppersurface 16 i of the sheet of material 10 i is the floral grouping 120having the stem end 122 and the bloom end 124. One method of wrappingthe sheet of material 10 i about the floral grouping 120 is to draw thesheet 10 i at the second side 15 i in the direction 126 over the floralgrouping 120, thereby causing a lower surface 17 i (FIG. 22B) of thesheet of material 10 i to become the externally oriented surface of awrapper 130 i (FIG. 23). The sheet of material 10 i is wrapped about thefloral grouping 120, thus forming the wrapper 130 i in exactly the sameway as is disclosed above in FIGS. 13-18.

Shown in FIG. 23 is the wrapper 130 i having a conical shape andpossessing the additional strip of bonding material 140 i. The bondingmaterial 140 i is disposed on the inner surface of the wrapper 130 i(i.e. the upper surface 16 i of the sheet of material 10 i) facing thestems 122 of the floral grouping 120.

In operation, the portion of the wrapper 130 i in the vicinity of thestrip of bonding material 140 i is tightly grasped and crimped about thestems 122 of the floral grouping 120, thereby causing overlapping foldsin the portion of the wrapper 130 i adjacent the stems 122 to bebondingly connected thereby causing the portion of the wrapper 130 i tobe bound about the stems 122 thereby forming a connected portion (FIG.24).

Shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 is the same sheet of material 10 i which hasbeen wrapped in a cylindrical fashion about the floral grouping 120,thereby forming a cylindrically shaped wrapper 136 i about the floralgrouping 120, substantially as shown above in FIG. 17. The bondingmaterial 140 i is disposed on the inner surface of the wrapper 136 i(i.e. the upper surface 16 i of the sheet of material 10 i 0 andsurrounds a portion of the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120. Thewrapper 136 i is grasped and crimped in the vicinity of the bondingmaterial 140 i, thereby causing a portion of the wrapper 136 i tooverlap and be bonded together about the stems 122 of the floralgrouping 120, thereby binding the wrapper 136 i about the stems 122,thereby forming the connected portion 142 i about the stems 122 (FIG.26).

Embodiments of FIGS. 27-32

Shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 is the sheet of material 10 j shown in FIG.20A, here shown with the crimp connector, i.e., the bonding material 140j, disposed upon the lower surface 17 j of the sheet 10 j (FIG. 28). Thesheet of material 10 j can be wrapped about the floral grouping 120exactly the same as shown in FIGS. 21-26 to form a conically shapedwrapper 130 j as shown in FIG. 29, or a cylindrically shaped wrapper 136j shown in FIG. 31.

As shown in FIG. 30, the wrapper 130 j is grasped in proximity to thebonding material 140 j and is crimped about the stems 122 of the floralgrouping 120, thereby causing portions of the wrapper 130 j to overlapand engage with one another, forming a connected crimped portion 142 jof the wrapper 130 j about the floral grouping 120. Similarly, shown inFIG. 32, the wrapper 136 j and the bonding material 140 j are crimpedabout the stems 122 thereby forming the connected portion 142 j of thewrapper 136 j about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 disposedwithin the wrapper. 136 j.

Embodiments of FIGS. 33-37

Shown in FIGS. 33 and 34 is a wrapper generally designated by thenumeral 148. The wrapper 148 is of a type of wrapper referred to in thefloral industry as “sleeves”. The wrapper 148 in one version as embodiedherein is comprised of a first surface or sheet of material 150 (alsoreferred to herein as first sheet) having a first upper end 152, a firstlower end 154, a first left-hand side 156, a first right-hand side 158,a first inner surface 160 and a first outer surface 162. The wrapper 148further comprises a second surface or sheet of material 164 (alsoreferred to herein as second sheet) which has a second upper end 166, asecond lower end 168, a second left-hand side 170, a second right-handside 172, a second inner surface 174 and a second outer surface 176. Thesecond sheet 164 is disposed upon the first sheet 150 whereby the firstinner surface 160 is disposed adjacent the second inner surface 174. Thefirst sheet 150 and the second sheet 164 may be of equal lengths.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 33, one sheet may be longer than theother sheet, such as first sheet 150 being slightly longer than secondsheet 164. The first left-hand side 156 of the first sheet 150 restsupon and adjacent the second left-hand side 170 of the second sheet 164.Similarly, the first right-hand side 158 of the first sheet 150 liesadjacent and upon the second right-hand side 172 of the second sheet164. The first left-hand side 156 of sheet 150 is sealed to the secondleft-hand side 170 of the second sheet 164, forming a left-hand seal178. The first right-hand side 158 of the first sheet 150 is sealed tothe second right-hand side 172 of the second sheet 164, thereby forminga right-hand seal 180. The first sheet 150 and the second sheet 164,when sealed at seals 178 and 180, form the wrapper 148 having an openupper end 182 and an open lower end 184. The left-hand seal 178 and theright-hand seal 180 may be formed by any method to form a wrapperconsistent with the use of present invention. Wrappers known as sleevesare well known by those of ordinary skill in the art and arecommercially available and have been used for many years in the floralindustry.

The wrapper 148 may similarly be composed of a single sheet of material(not shown) which has been folded over to form two surfaces and issealed on abutting sides of each surface thereby forming a wrappersimilar in appearance to the wrapper 148 in FIG. 33 and having an openupper end and an open lower end. Similarly, a sleeve such as the wrapper148 may be formed and sealed at the lower end thereby forming a sleeveor wrapper which has only an open upper end. The left-hand seal 178 andthe right-hand seal 180 may be formed by adhesive methods, byheat-sealing methods, by sonic-sealing methods or vibratory-sealingmethods or any appropriate method for forming a seal between two sheets.The wrapper 148 further comprises a crimp connector 188 disposed on aportion of the wrapper 148. The crimp connector 188, as shown in FIG.33, is comprised of a bonding material and release strip disposed upon aportion of the second sheet of material 164 near the second right-handside 172 of the second sheet 164. The crimp connector 188 has adouble-sided adhesive 190, as shown in FIG. 34. One side of thedouble-sided adhesive 190 is adhesively disposed against the secondsheet 164 and the other side of the double-sided adhesive 190 is coveredby a release strip or tape 191 which when removed exposes the adhesive190.

The wrapper 148 further comprises at least a first detaching element,such as a first plurality of perforations 192 a in first sheet 150 forenabling the detachment of an upper portion of the wrapper 148 to exposea portion of the floral grouping 120. The wrapper 148 may furthercomprise a second detaching element, such as a second plurality ofperforations 192 b in the second sheet 164 for enabling the detachmentof an upper portion of the wrapper 148. If both perforations 192 a and192 b are employed, the entire upper portion of the wrapper 148,comprising the upper portions of both the first and second sheets 150and 164 can be removed, revealing a portion of the floral grouping 120.A third detaching element comprising a third plurality of perforations192 c and a fourth detaching element comprising a fourth plurality ofperforations 192 d may be disposed in the wrapper 148, as indicated inFIGS. 33 and 35. The perforations 192 c and 192 d facilitate the use ofonly either the perforations 192 a or 192 b, if only the upper portionof the first sheet 150 is desired to be removed, or if only the upperportion of the second sheet 164 is desired to be removed, respectively.For example, it may be desired to remove only the upper portion of thefirst sheet 150, thereby exposing the floral grouping 120 to view whilemaintaining the background provided by the intact second sheet 164 forproviding an enhanced decorative or dramatic effect.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 35, the wrapper 148 is opened to exposethe interior space 193 between the inner surface 160 of the first sheet150 and the inner surface 174 of the second sheet 164. The floralgrouping 120 exactly the same as described above is disposed within theinterior space 193 of the wrapper 148 such that the stems 122 areoriented near the lower end 184 of the wrapper 148 and the bloom end 124of the floral grouping 120 is disposed near the upper end 182 of thewrapper 148. The release tape 191 is removed from the crimp connector188 prior to crimping the wrapper 148 about a portion of the floralgrouping 120.

As shown in FIG. 36, a first overlapping portion 194 of the wrapper 148is drawn in direction 196 and a second overlapping portion 198 of thewrapper 148 is drawn in the direction 200 whereby the double-sidedadhesive strip 190 is contacted to the first overlapping portion 194(FIG. 37). The adhesive portion 190 is cinched tightly about the wrapper148 and the portion of the wrapper 148 disposed thereabout is crimpedtightly about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120, thereby formingoverlapping portions of the wrapper 148 about the stems 122 of thefloral grouping 120 to form a connected area 202, thereby causing thewrapper 148 to be held crimpingly and firmly about the stems 122. Thecrimp connector 188 may be formed from a bonding material other than anadhesive, such as the bonding materials described herein. The wrapper148 further comprises a reservoir 175 disposed therein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 38-41

Shown in FIGS. 38-41 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148 a. The wrapper 148 a is exactly the same as the wrapper 148shown in FIGS. 33 and 35 except that the wrapper 148 a, rather thanhaving an adhesive strip with a release strip has a crimp connectorcomprising a cinching tab 206 a which is exactly the same as cinchingtab 18 in FIG. 1 except that the cinching tab 206 a is attached toeither a first sheet or surface 150 a or a second sheet or surface 164 aof the wrapper 148 a. The cinching tab 206 a has a first end 208 a, asecond end 210 a and a bonding material portion 212 a. Shown in FIG. 39,the cinching tab 206 a is an extension of the first sheet of material150 a. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in theart, that the cinching tab 206 a could also be comprised of an extensionof the second sheet 164 a. Alternatively, the cinching tab 206 a may bea separate piece of material which is affixed to either the first sheet150 a or the second sheet 164 a. The wrapper 148 a further comprises areservoir 175 disposed therein.

As shown in FIGS. 40 and 41 the cinching tab 206 a is utilized inexactly the same manner as the cinching tab 18 is used in FIGS. 16 and18 to cinch the sheet of material to form the wrapper 130 or 136 aboutthe floral grouping 120. Once the cinching tab 206 a is made to cinchthe wrapper 148 a tightly about the stems 122, a connected portion 214 ais formed from overlapped portions of the wrapper 148 a which areengaged with each other about the stems 122, thereby tightly andcrimpingly connecting the wrapper 148 a about the stems 122.

Embodiments of FIGS. 42-45

Shown in FIGS. 42-45 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148 b. The wrapper 148 b is exactly the same as the wrapper 148in FIGS. 33 and 35 except that the wrapper 148 b has an internallydisposed crimp connector comprising a bonding material 216 b rather thana bonding strip externally located. The internal bonding material 216 bis comprised of a first inner layer 218 b of bonding material and asecond inner layer 220 b of bonding material. The first inner layer 218b of bonding material is disposed upon a portion of an inner surface 160b of a first surface or sheet of material 150 b. The second inner layer220 b of bonding material is disposed upon a portion of a inner surface174 b of a second surface or sheet of material 164 b.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, a floral grouping 120 isdisposed within an interior space 193 b of the wrapper 148 bsubstantially as described above. The wrapper 148 b is then grasped andcrimped in the vicinity of the internal closure bonding material 216 bforcing portions of the wrapper 148 b into overlapping folds in thevicinity of the internal closure bonding material 216 b, thereby causingoverlapped portions of the inner surfaces 160 b and 174 b of the wrapper148 b to crimpingly bond to each other and forming a crimped area 222 bin the wrapper 148 b in the vicinity about the stems 122 of the floralgrouping 120.

Embodiments of FIGS. 46-49

Shown in FIGS. 46-49 is a wrapper 148 c which is exactly the same as thewrapper 148 a shown in FIG. 38 and the wrapper 148 b shown in FIG. 42except that the crimp connector of wrapper 148 c comprises both acinching tab 206 c similar to the cinching tab 206 of FIG. 38 and aninternally disposed bonding material 216 a which is exactly the same asthe internally disposed bonding material 216 shown in FIG. 42. In theversion of the present invention shown in FIG. 46, both the cinching tab206 a and an internally disposed bonding material 216 c participate inthe effective crimping and bonding of the wrapper 148 c about the stems122 of the floral grouping 120 to form a crimped portion 222 c in thewrapper 148 c which functions to hold the wrapper 148 c firmly againstthe stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 (FIGS. 48 and 49).

In a preferred version of the method of the present invention, theinternal bonding material 216 c and the portion of the wrapper 148 cproximate thereto are crimped about the stems 122 of the floral grouping120 thereby causing the wrapper 148 c to be crimpingly held in anorientation about the floral grouping 120. Next, the cinching tab 206 cis wrapped about the crimped portion 222 c of the wrapper 148 c tofurther bind the wrapper 148 c close to the stems 122 of the floralgrouping 120.

Embodiments of FIGS. 50-53

Shown in FIGS. 50-53 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148 d. The wrapper 148 d is exactly the same as the wrapper 148b shown in FIG. 42 except that the bonding material is an externallydisposed bonding material 226 d which is disposed about a portion of anouter surface 162 d of a first surface or sheet 150 d and a portion ofan outer surface 176 d of a second surface or sheet 164 d. The externalbonding material 226 d is comprised of a first layer 228 d disposed on aportion of the first sheet 150 d and a second layer 230 d disposed on aportion of the second sheet 164 d.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 52 and 53 the wrapper 148 d can betightly crimped about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 by firmlygrasping and crimping the externally disposed bonding material 226 dabout the stems 122 thereby crimping a portion of the wrapper 148 d intoa crimped portion 232 d about the stems 122. The wrapper 148 d, whencrimped about the stems 122 as shown in FIG. 53, appears substantiallysimilar to the wrapper 136 j shown in FIG. 32.

Embodiments of FIGS. 54-57

Shown in FIGS. 54-57 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148 e. The wrapper 148 e is exactly the same as the wrapper 148c shown in FIG. 46 except that the bonding material used for crimpinglyforming the wrapper 148 e about the floral grouping 120 is an externallydisposed bonding material 226 e exactly the same as shown in FIG. 50rather than an internally disposed bonding material as shown in FIG. 46.The external bonding material 226 e operates in exactly the same way asthe external bonding material 226 d in FIGS. 52 and 53. Additionallyhowever, a cinching tab 206 e functions to cause the wrapper 148 e to beheld more tightly about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 to forma crimped portion 234 e of the wrapper 148 e about the stems 122 asshown in FIG. 57. The method of first crimping the externally disposedbonding material 226 e, then wrapping the crimped portion 234 e with thecinching tab 206 e is substantially similar to the method described forthe embodiment of FIGS. 46-49, and described in more detail above.

Embodiment of FIGS. 58 and 58A

Shown in FIG. 58 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148 f. The wrapper 148 f is exactly the same as the wrapper 148a shown in FIG. 38 and functions in exactly the same manner except thatthe wrapper 148 f additionally has an upper closure flap 240 f and alower closure flap 242 f. The upper closure flap 240 f further has anupper closure bonding strip 244 f and when the upper closure flap 240 fis folded in a direction 246 f against the wrapper 148 f, the upper endof the wrapper 148 f is thereby closed. The lower closure flap 242 f hasa lower closure bonding strip 248 f and when the lower closure bondingflap 242 f is folded in a direction 250 f against the wrapper 148 f, thelower end of the wrapper 148 f is thereby closed. In this manner, thewrapper 148 f can be completely closed about a floral grouping (notshown) disposed within an interior space thereof. It will also beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any of the sheets ofmaterial or sleeves or other wrappers described herein could be modifiedby the addition of an upper closure flap or a lower closure flap. FIG.58A shows a plurality of sleeves 148 ff which are provided as a pad 252of sleeves 148 ff, wherein the pad 252 has a top sleeve 148 ff andwherein a strip 244 ff of bonding material on each sleeve 148 ff isbondingly connected to a portion of an adjacent sleeve 148 ff forcooperating to connect the sleeves 148 ff into the pad 252.

It will also be noted that any of the strips of bonding materialdescribed herein may be protected by a release strip which can beremoved to expose the bonding material thereunder.

Embodiment of FIGS. 59-62

Shown in FIGS. 59-60 is a sheet of material designated by the generalreference numeral 10 k and which is exactly the same as sheet 10 exceptfor the differences noted herein. The sheet of material 10 k (alsoreferred to herein as “sheet”) has an upper surface 16 k and a lowersurface 17 k and sheet connector comprising a strip of material 24 kcomprising a closure bonding material and further comprises a detachingelement such as a plurality of perforations 25 k as described elsewhereherein. The strip of closure bonding material 24 k is disposed upon theupper surface 16 k of the sheet 10 k. The sheet 10 k further comprises alabel connector 254 k which is a second strip of bonding materialdisposed on a portion of the lower surface 17 k of the sheet of material10 k as shown in FIGS. 59-62. The label connector 254 k serves to bond acard or label 256 k shown by way of example in FIG. 62. The card orlabel 256 k can be attached to the label connector 254 k for thepurposes of providing information to the purchaser or user about thefloral grouping 120 disposed within a wrapper 130 k (FIG. 61) or 136 k(FIG. 62) formed from the sheet of material 10 k. The label connector256 k may have printed thereon various floral indicia 258 k. The floralindicia 258 k may comprise a greeting such as “Happy Birthday” and mayalso provide a space indicating the identity of the sender. The floralindicia 258 k also typically includes a space for writing in theidentity of the recipient of the floral grouping 120. Any other greetingsuch as “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Easter” or any other form ofgreeting may be included on the front surface of the card or label 256k. Also, the floral indicia 258 k may be in the form of careinstructions relating to the particular floral grouping 120. The careinstructions could include instructions as to the sunlight required bythe particular plant, the watering instructions for the particular plantor floral grouping, or any other instructions or information relating tothe care of the particular plant associated with the card or label 256k. The floral indicia 258 k could also comprise a UPC code.

As shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, the sheet of material 10 k can be wrappedabout the floral grouping 120 to form the conical wrapper 130 k or thecylindrical wrapper 136 k for the purpose of wrapping the floralgrouping 120. The label connector 254 k is exposed on the lower surface17 k once the sheet of material 10 k has been wrapped about the floralgrouping 120. As shown in FIGS. 59-62, the sheet 10 k does not have aclosure tab such as closure tab 18 of sheet 10. Alternately, a labelconnector 254 k could be disposed upon the upper surface 16 k of thesheet of material 10 for affixing a label 256 k within the wrapper 130 kor 136 k. The perforations 25 k are shown as being located to the leftof the label connector 254 k in FIG. 59, but it will be understood byone of ordinary skill in the art that the perforations 25 k could alsobe located to the right of the label connector or 254 k wherein when theupper portion of the wrapper 10 k was removed, the label attached to thelabel connector 254 k would also be removed therewith. [FIG. 58A shows aplurality of sleeves 148 ff which are provided as a pad 252 of sleeves148 ff, wherein the pad 252 has a top sleeve 148 ff and wherein a strip244 ff of bonding material on each sleeve 148 ff is bondingly connectedto a portion of an adjacent sleeve 148 ff for cooperating to connect thesleeves 148 ff into the pad 252.]

Embodiments of FIGS. 63-66

Shown in FIGS. 63 and 64 and designated by the general reference numeral10 m is a sheet of material (also referred to herein as “sheet”) whichis exactly the same as the sheet of material 10 k (comprising aplurality of perforations 25 m) except that the sheet of material 10 mfurther comprises a cinching tab 18 m exactly as described previouslyfor sheet 10 described in FIG. 1. Sheet 10 m therefore comprises thecinching tab 18 m and a label connector 254 m located on a lower surface17 m of the sheet of material 10 m for bonding to a card or label asshown in FIGS. 61 and 62 and designated therein as card 256 k containingfloral indicia 258 k. The sheet 10 m is wrapped about the floralgrouping 120 exactly the same as shown in FIGS. 13-18 with the exceptionthat for wrappers 130 m and 136 m, shown in FIGS. 65 and 66, the bondingstrip 254 m is disposed on the outside of the wrapper 130 m or 136 m forthe purpose of bonding a card or label such as was discussed above. Theperforations 25 m may be located in any functionally useful arrangementon the sheet 10 m as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in theart.

Embodiments of FIGS. 67-70

Shown in FIG. 67 and designated by the general reference numeral 148 gis a wrapper exactly the same as wrapper 148 b described in FIG. 42except that a crimp connector, or bonding material, disposed on firstand second inner surfaces 160 g and 174 g of the wrapper 148 g anddesignated by the reference numeral 216 g does not extend completelyfrom one side of the wrapper 148 g to the other side as shown in FIG. 42for wrapper 148 b. The wrapper 148 g comprises the bonding material 216g which is disposed on continuous portions of the first and second innersurfaces 160 g and 174 g of the wrapper 148 g except for a gap 260 gwhich interrupts the strip of bonding material 216 g from extendingentirely across the first and second inner surfaces 160 g and 174 g ofthe wrapper 148 g. This embodiment is represented in FIGS. 67 and 68. Astrip of bonding material 218 g is disposed upon a portion of the firstinner surface 160 g of sheet 150 g, and a strip of bonding material 220g is disposed upon a portion of the second inner surface 174 g of sheet164 g of the wrapper 148 g.

In operation, the stems of a floral grouping (not shown) can be extendedthrough the gap 260 g of the wrapper 148 g for enclosing the floralgrouping.

Shown in FIGS. 69 and 70 and designated by the general reference numeral148 h is a wrapper exactly the same as wrapper 148 c shown in FIG. 46except that the wrapper 148 h has a crimp connector comprising a bondingmaterial 216 h disposed upon the first and second inner surfaces 160 hand 174 h of the wrapper 148 h exactly the same as the strip of bondingmaterial 216 g is disposed upon the inner surfaces 160 g and 174 g ofthe wrapper 148 g as shown in FIG. 67. That is, the strip of bondingmaterial 216 h does not extend entirely across the inner surfaces 160 hand 174 h of the wrapper 148 h from one side to the other but isinterrupted by a gap 260 h in the bonding material 216 h. The stems of afloral grouping (not shown) can be extended through the gap 260 h forincreasing the ease of inserting the floral grouping into the wrapper148 h. The wrappers 148 g and 148 h can then be wrapped about the floralgrouping exactly as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, and FIGS. 48 and 49,respectively.

Embodiments of FIGS. 71-74

Shown in FIG. 71 and designated by the general reference numeral 10 n isa sheet of material constructed exactly the same as the sheet ofmaterial 10 i shown in FIG. 19A except that the sheet of material 10 nincludes a crimp connector further comprising two strips of bondingmaterial, one on each of an upper surface 16 n and a lower surface 17 nof the sheet of material 10 n. The first strip of bonding material, onthe upper surface 16 n, is designated by the general reference numeral262 n and the second strip of bonding material, on the lower surface 17n of the sheet 10 n, is designated by the general reference numeral 264n. The composition of the bonding material 262 n may be the same ordifferent from the composition of the bonding material 264 n.

Shown in FIG. 72 and designated by the general reference numeral 10 p isanother sheet of material having a first strip of bonding material 262 pon an upper surface 16 p and a second strip of bonding material 264 pshown on a lower surface 17 p of the sheet of material 10 p. The sheetof material 10 p is exactly the same as sheet of material 10 n exceptthat the strips of bonding material 262 p and 264 p are offset from eachother on opposite surfaces 16 p and 17 p of the sheet of material 10 p,as demonstrated in FIG. 72. The strips of bonding material 262 p and 264p may be fully offset or partially offset from each other.

Shown in FIG. 73 and designated by the general reference numeral 10 q isa sheet of material having an upper surface 16 q and a lower surface 17q and having a first strip of bonding material 262 q on the uppersurface 16 q and a pair of strips of bonding material 264 q and 266 qdisposed on the lower surface 17 q of the sheet of material 10 q and inthe same general vicinity as, but opposite to, the strip of material 262q. The strips 262 q, 264 q and 266 q may be slightly offset or whollyoffset or arranged in any number of orientations with regard to eachother in accordance with the present invention as will be appreciated byone of ordinary skill in the art.

Shown in FIG. 74 is a sheet of material 10 r having two strips ofbonding material 262 r and 268 r on an upper surface 16 r and a singlestrip of bonding material 264 r on a lower surface 17 r. The first stripof bonding material 262 r is on the upper surface 16 r generally near asecond end 13 r of the sheet of material 10 r and the second strip ofbonding material 264 r is on a lower surface 17 r of the sheet ofmaterial 10 r and the third strip of bonding material 268 r is on thesame surface 16 r of the sheet of material 10 r as the strip of bondingmaterial 262 r. As noted above, the composition of the strips of bondingmaterial 262 r, 264 r and 268 r can be identical or different to eachother and can be arranged in any one of a variety of orientations withregard to each other.

The sheets of material 10 n-10 r can be used in, exactly the same way asthe sheet of material 10 i as shown in FIGS. 22-26 for forming a wrapperabout a floral grouping wherein the bonding material strips 262 n-268 rare crimped together to form crimped overlapping portions of the wrapperwhich engage each other about the stems of a floral grouping, therebyholding the wrapper in close proximity to the floral grouping. Moreover,each sheet 10 n-10 r includes a detaching element such as that describedfor sheet 10 i for detaching a portion of the wrapper as describedelsewhere herein.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that in theprocess of wrapping any of the wrappers or sheets of material disclosedherein about a floral grouping or plant, that the purpose of the bondingmaterial is to cause overlapping portions of the wrapper or sheet ofmaterial forming the wrapper to adhere to other adjacent overlappingportions of the wrapper or sheet, thereby causing the wrapper or sheetof material to be held generally and firmly about the stems of thefloral grouping. It will also be understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art that the bonding material may partially bond or not bond at allto the stem portion of the floral grouping as the wrapper or sheet ofmaterial is crimped about the stems of the floral grouping to bind thewrapper about the floral grouping.

When a sheet of material such as one of the sheets 10 n-10 r is crimpedabout a floral grouping as described above, the overlapping portions ofthe inner surface of the sheet crimpingly engage other overlappingportions of the inner surface. Similarly, the overlapping portions ofthe outer surface of the sheet crimpingly engage other overlappingportions of the outer surface.

Also, envisioned within the context of the present invention arewrappers (sleeves) which have strips of crimping bonding material bothon the inner surfaces of the first and second surfaces of the wrapperand on the outer surfaces of the first and second surfaces of thewrapper. Each of the sheets of material or wrappers having such dualbonding strips as described herein may also have a cinching tab asdescribed above.

Also, envisioned are sheets of material having detaching means disposedelsewhere on the sheets of material or sleeves for enabling other modesof detachment of portions of the sheets of material or sleeves to exposevarious portions of the floral groupings contained therein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 75-80

In FIGS. 75 and 76 the wrapper 130 shown in FIG. 16 has a portion of thewrapper 130 detached via the detaching element. In FIG. 75, a portion ofthe upper portion of the wrapper 130 has been detached, leaving thefloral grouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG. 76, an entire upperportion of the wrapper 130 has been detached, leaving the upper portionof the floral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

In FIG. 77, a portion of the upper portion of the wrapper 130 shown inFIG. 24 has been detached via the detaching element leaving the floralgrouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG. 78 an entire upper portion ofthe wrapper 130 has been detached via the detaching element leaving theupper portion of the floral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

In FIGS. 79 and 80 a portion of the wrapper 148 b in FIG. 44 has beendetached via the detaching means. In FIG. 79 a portion of the upperportion of the wrapper 148 b has been detached leaving the floralgrouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG. 80 an entire upper portion ofthe wrapper 148 b has been detached leaving the upper portion of thefloral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the otherversions of the present invention as embodied in the other figuresdisclosed herein may also possess portions which can be detached toexpose various portions of the floral groupings contained therein.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wrapping a floral grouping,comprising: providing a floral grouping having an upper end and a stemportion; providing a tubular sleeve having an upper end and a lower endand having: an inner surface surrounding an interior space and having anouter surface, a detaching element for detaching a portion of thetubular sleeve after the tubular sleeve has been disposed about thefloral grouping, and a reservoir attached to the inner surface of thetubular sleeve; and placing the floral grouping into the interior spaceof the tubular sleeve.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step ofproviding a tubular sleeve, the tubular sleeve further comprises a flapextending from the tubular sleeve for enclosing the upper end, the lowerend or both the upper end and lower end of the tubular sleeve.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the step of providing a tubular sleeve furthercomprises providing a pad of tubular sleeves, the pad having a toptubular sleeve and wherein each tubular sleeve is bondingly connected toa portion of an adjacent tubular sleeve for cooperating to connect thetubular sleeves into the pad.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein in thestep of providing the tubular sleeve, the tubular sleeve has a closureelement which is selected from the group consisting of a pressuresensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heat sensitive adhesive or cohesive, acold seal adhesive or cohesive, a sonically sealable adhesive orcohesive, a vibratingly sealing adhesive or cohesive, or a chemicallysealing adhesive or cohesive.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein thereservoir of the tubular sleeve contains water, preservatives,nutrients, gels, foams, or decorative materials.
 6. A method forwrapping a floral grouping, comprising: providing a floral groupinghaving an upper end and a stem portion; providing a tubular sleevehaving an upper end and a lower end and having; an outer surface and aninner surface surrounding an interior space, a closure elementcomprising a bonding material for enclosing the upper end, the lowerend, or both the upper end and lower end of the tubular sleeve, and areservoir attached to the inner surface of the tubular sleeve; placingthe floral grouping into the interior space of the tubular sleeve; andclosing a portion of the tubular sleeve about the floral grouping bybonding portions of the closure element.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein in the step of providing the tubular sleeve, the closure elementfurther comprises the bonding material disposed upon a portion of theouter surface or inner surface of the tubular sleeve.
 8. The method ofclaim 6 wherein in the step of providing a tubular sleeve, the closureelement comprises a flap extending from the tubular sleeve for enclosingthe upper end, the lower end or both the upper end and lower end of thetubular sleeve.
 9. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of providing atubular sleeve further comprises providing a pad of tubular sleeves, thepad having a top tubular sleeve and wherein each tubular sleeve isbondingly connected to a portion of an adjacent tubular sleeve forcooperating to connect the tubular sleeves into the pad.
 10. The methodof claim 6 wherein in the step of providing the tubular sleeve thebonding material of the closure element is selected from the groupconsisting of a pressure sensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heatsensitive adhesive or cohesive, a cold seal adhesive or cohesive, asonically sealable adhesive or cohesive, a vibratingly sealing adhesiveor cohesive, or a chemically sealing adhesive or cohesive.
 11. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the reservoir of the tubular sleeve containswater, preservatives, nutrients, gels, foams, or decorative materials.